A new action plan was announced on June 4 by the newly elected Government, immediately followed by a Decree-law revoking expressions of interest, to prevent the number of applications for residence permits without residence visas from growing.
The Plan considers 4 axes and 41 measures with a view to generally attain the following:
- More effective regulations and control mechanisms, including entry rules into Portugal and border control systems;
- Creation of a taskforce to deal urgently with the 400,000 pending case files;
- Attraction of foreign talent, along with higher education students, and other professionals to bridge the labor market skills gap, but designed to match job offers;
- A more effective integration of immigrants, by means, for instance, of facilitating access to public healthcare and to learning of Portuguese as a foreign language, along with making family reunification procedures easier;
- Attraction of foreign investment to assist with providing affordable housing in general and better living conditions and facilities for immigrants and asylum seekers;
- Assessment of the scope and competencies of immigration related public entities, while making more resources available to Consulates and AIMA and allowing for a wider participation of municipalities and society in general.
To implement this Action Plan for Migration, further amendments to the Aliens Act are expected, after approval by Parliament.
